This invention relates to apparatus and a method for using that apparatus to construct a building having a "log cabin" appearance, and in particular to method and apparatus wherein log blocks are assembled to siding having a convex outer surface to give the appearance of full logs protruding alternately at the corner of a building.
Previously, most "log home" type buildings were built in one of two ways. In one method whole round logs were stacked, one on top of another, to form the walls of the building, with the ends of the logs protruding alternately, in standard pioneer fashion. In the other commonly used method, siding with a rounded outside face was applied to a standard wood frame house to give a log appearance, although at the corners the siding was simply mitered at 45 degrees, giving the building square corners.
The disadvantage of the first method is that a great deal of sealing material must be placed between the logs in order to seal out the weather. Even if this is done, however, insulation is still a problem, as wood is a poor insulator against the cold, compared to modern commercial insulation, such as fiberglass. The disadvantage of the second method is that, with the squaring of the corners, the classic alternating protruding log appearance is lost completely. The building then looks much like any other frame building having wood siding.
The structure described in Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 2,309,426, attempts to solve certain of these problems. That patent describes a structure wherein the rounded siding is attached to the studs by means of angle irons. The ends of the siding boards are alternately extended beyond the corners. The disadvantage here again is that the appearance is merely that of a board protruding beyond the corner, not an actual log in the classic pioneer style.
Another structure is described in Ewing, U.S. Pat. No. 1,654,120. This structure does provide for log-shaped protrusions extending beyond the corner of the subject building. The structure disclosed in Ewing, however, may be subject to substantial weather damage during years of use. Further, it has a large number of parts, and so it would be advantageous to reduce the part count in order to make assembly and construction easier and faster.
Finally, yet another structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,182, issued June 3, 1986, invented by the same inventor as the present invention and assigned to the same assignee. That patent shows log blocks attached to the studs which are part of the walls of the building. Each log block has one cylindrically convex side, with siding attached to the opposite side. Further, the siding perpendicular to the log block is coped to fit around the convex surface of the log block side. This apparatus still involves substantial onsite assembly, whereas the trend today appears to be toward pre-assembling several parts into modules and then assembling the modules onsite. Further, a need exists for a modular assembly that can be assembled without the need for large cranes onsite and by people having only ordinary construction expertise.
This invention relates to improvements over the apparatus referred to above and to solutions to the problems raised thereby.